


Far Away

by BuckyAndDanno



Category: 9-1-1 (TV), The Night Shift (TV 2014)
Genre: Army Medic Buck, Bad Buckley Parents, Buck Has An Eidetic Memory, Buck and TC are the best team, Buck and TK are bros forever, Buck deserves better, Buck has to work for every piece, Cardio Thoracic Surgeon Buck, Dad!Buck, ER Surgeon Buck, Eddie Diaz wake up call, Edmundo Diaz is an Emotionally Constipated Bag of Popcorn Kernels, Genius Buck, M/M, Writer Has Taken So Many Liberties, emotional angst, eventual buddie, hurt!buck, mentions of depression, smart buck, who cares?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuckyAndDanno/pseuds/BuckyAndDanno
Summary: 3x01 AU. Buck walks into the station to apologise to Bobby for his outburst and talk about his options, like the mature adult he is, only to hear the tail end of the 118’s conversation about him, specifically Eddie and Hen’s comments. Hurt, he realises the home he’d carved out for himself here has long gone, so he leaves, determined to find his new place in the world. Only, L.A. was always going to call him back sooner or later, and you can never truly outrun your past.
Relationships: Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 67
Kudos: 616





	1. Words Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> We finally have season 3 airing in the UK, so I’m totally charged up with so many 9-1-1 ideas. Apologies to my other fics/fandoms lol. I’ll get back to you.
> 
> This is inspired by 3x01 (Certain lines by Eddie Diaz had me shaking my fist at the TV), and by ‘Far Away by Nickleback’. It’s a x-over with The Night Shift in the main, but I’m really only borrowing characters, so you don’t have to have seen it.
> 
> I don’t own 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Lone Star, The Night Shift, or Far Away by Nickleback.
> 
> Trigger Warnings for the whole story: Mentions of depression, and childhood issues/bad parents. If you are struggling, please talk to a friend, family member, or trained professional.

Evan Buckley had been having a rough time.

It was fair to say really that anyone who had been through being crushed by a fire truck, and then a pulmonary embolism, would be having a hard time, but Buck honestly felt like he needed a sign.

No-one got it.

No-one understood.

Being a firefighter was the thing that made him who he was. It was his identity. Plain and simple. Without it he was nothing and no-one, and that’s something he could not stand by. That’s why he’d blown up at Cap at the hospital; had quit altogether rather than being stuck on desk duty.

It wasn’t the whole reason though.

In truth, he’d been praying that someone noticed now for a long time. Sure Cap had been with him through the PT and everything, but even still, no-one had actually asked how he really was. No-one had delved deeper, and it hurt more than he cared to admit.

So he’d played childish and acted out, hoping just one person – anyone really – would realise that he was struggling.

No-one did.

He couldn’t really colour himself surprised though, if he was honest. In what part of his life so far had people really put him first, and cared about him unreservedly?

He’d thought that’s what he had with the 118, but now he wasn’t so sure; wasn’t so sure they were the family he thought he’d carved.

Blinking back tears, he wrung his hands together, still sat in his car outside the fire house. For the first time in his life, he was actually afraid to go in.

The past seven days stuck inside his flat had been eye-opening for Buck, in more ways than one.

Firstly, yeah, he’d realised that maybe people didn’t care about him as much as he cared about them.

But he’d also somewhat rationalised that they did have other people to go home to at night, where he had no-one. That in itself had prompted Buck to think more deeply about his life. Maybe he shouldn’t be allowing the job to be his everything? Maybe he should be finding something else out there?

Which had led to the realisation that he didn’t just miss Chris and Eddie’s presence in his loft because he was lonely. No. He missed them because he loved Eddie, because Chris was like the son he’d never had. Because he wanted to spend the rest of his life with them.

All told, they were the reasons he was sat here now. He’d forced himself to get up, clean up, go out – to come and apologise to the captain like the grown up he was (come on, he wasn’t Buck 1.0 anymore), and ask about his options.

He’d also pretty much decided ‘what the heck’ on asking Eddie out, because what more could he lose really? And there had been the not so subtle nudges from Hen over the past few months that said maybe he wasn’t alone in his feelings.

This was him moving into Buck 3.0. The rational Buck. The mature Buck. The Buck who was ready for family and commitment and everything else he’d been avoiding for so long.

This was the Buck who could admit to his mistakes.

With a deep breath he forces himself out of the car and onto the tarmac, taking steady steps into the firehouse.

He can do this.

He sees them before he hears them, crowded together up in the loft, but they don’t hear him. He moves towards the stairs, about to call out, when their voices reach him, and he freezes.

_“Maddie says he hasn’t left his apartment in a week.”_

They were talking about him.

He knows he shouldn’t listen, should announce his presence – that everyone says things they don’t always mean when someone isn’t around – but it’s like all his words have dried up in his throat; shrivelled lumps that he can’t move.

His hands are shaking.

_“I know it sucks, but it’s life, right?”_ Eddie sounds so nonchalant, so uncaring, that Buck’s heart just about breaks right there. _“Brush it off, and keep moving forward.”_

Buck can’t think of anything in that moment other than “what?” Sure he’d come to terms with them not caring quite as much as he cared about them, but to hear Eddie – his best friend, if nothing else – speak so callously about everything he’s been through this past few months… It hurts Buck more than anything ever has in his life.

He brings himself back to the conversation just in time to hear Hen:

_“What does Buck have?”_

He literally whimpers; pain so fierce in his chest that it forces its way past his lips.

Sure he’d thought it himself, but having someone else say it, and especially someone he’d thought of like a sister…

Buck doesn’t know why he has been so blind to their feelings before. It’s clear they don’t care about him at all, to speak to plainly in disregard of everything he’s worked for, been through and accomplished.

Four pairs of eyes are on him then, wide and panicked.

“Buck…”

It’s Hen who speaks, but Buck tunes it all out. He can’t hear anything more that they have to say. Pulling his frozen hand away from the stair rail, he turns and all but runs out of the fire house.

“Buck, wait!”

It’s Eddie now, his former colleague catching up to him all too quickly, a firm hand on his shoulder.

Buck jumps away like he’s been shocked, turning to Eddie. He wants to be furious, but he knows he probably looks more like a kicked puppy; watery eyes and quivering lip. Still, he tries to inject some force into his words. “I think I heard you loud and clear, Eddie. Brush it off and move forward, right?”

Perhaps it’s the sudden venom in his tone that freezes Eddie, but somehow Buck manages to get back to his jeep without being caught again, or bursting into tears. Then he’s peeling out of the parking lot, putting the 118 and everyone inside far behind him.

He was Buck 3.0 and he could admit to his mistakes.

Namely, trusting the people he once called family, and thinking that they were ever a family at all.

T.K. Strand was not one to believe in fate at all, and yet somehow he’s thinking of his childhood best friend as he watches one of their old favourite shows, Carlos curled up beside him, when his phone rings.

_Mount Evanest –_ reads the caller ID, accompanied by a picture of the two of them; Evan towering over T.K. in their teenage years.

“Hey buddy, what’s up?” T.K. greets joyfully as he picks up the phone, motioning for Carlos to pause the TV. His boyfriend’s eyes furrow a little, but he does so.

There’s nothing more than a mangled sob on the other end, and it has T.K. sitting up immediately, panic in his eyes. “Evan?”

Another sob, broken by a hiccup. “T…Ty?”

“Evan where are you?” T.K.’s pacing now, frantic. Damn them being miles and miles apart, but he can’t sit there feeling helpless.

“I’m a-at h-home…” Evan stutters, still crying.

“Are you okay?”

That’s all it takes. Three simple words that clearly no-one has been asking. Tyler might not have seen his friend in years, but he knows Evan “Buck” Buckley better than he knows himself. Ask him what’s wrong, and he can lie – can divert or distract.

_‘Everything is wrong.’_

_‘There are a lot of things wrong with this world, Ty.’_

_‘Wrong? Maybe your outfit.’_

Ask him if he’s okay, and the walls come crumbling down.

Every word Evan speaks has T.K. clenching his fists tighter and tighter until he’s cutting cresents into his palms with his nails. There’s a very large part of him that wants to book a flight to L.A. and go deal with these assholes himself, but he doesn’t need an officer for a boyfriend to know that would be a very bad idea indeed.

Instead he says, “come to Texas, Ev,” soft and assured.

There’s another sob down the phone, but the tone is different. It’s almost… happy? “I was gonna ask if you minded.”

“Never.”

“Thanks.” Evan sniffles, and then there’s a shuffle and the zip of a suitcase. “For everything.”

“You know I’m always here, Evan.”

“I think maybe you’re the only one who is.”

A rotating string of expletives is all Bobby Nash can think for the rest of the shift.

Of course its their luck that Buck had to walk into the station, after weeks of being at home or elsewhere, when they’re talking about his situation.

Of course Eddie and Hen have things to say that would hurt Buck greatly.

Of course Buck hadn’t been there long enough to hear Bobby’s now unspoken reply.

_‘He has us.’_

Six hours is how long it takes for the shift to finally end and for Bobby to be able to get over to Buck’s apartment to check on him. Eddie and Hen are trailing behind him, eyes downcast as their minds replay their own unthoughtful words; neither had imagined Buck would be standing right there. Chim is at the back, with Maddie, who passes along Buck’s spare key.

They all know he isn’t going to open the door to them.

The apartment door swings open with a squeak, but what they find inside has Bobby gripping the door for support, face ashen.

Anything personal has gone, and what little remains – mostly furniture – is covered in white tarpaulin sheets. A set of keys rest on the kitchen table, identifiable as Buck’s by the photo keychain resting beside them – members of the 118 and their families beaming at the camera on one of their day trips out.

“No…” Bobby whispers, sliding down to the floor, because there’s only one obvious answer for all of this.

Buck’s gone.

For all Bobby had tried to protect him – protect **his son** – all they had succeeded in doing was driving Buck further away; so far in fact that they might never get him back.

He can hear Hen’s sob behind him, Maddie’s too, along with Chim’s more reasoned “I’m gonna call him” and Eddie’s slam of his fist against the wall.

“He’s gone.” Bobby can’t think – can’t comprehend anything beyond those two words.

“This is all your fault!” Comes the cry from Maddie, because of course she protects Buck as fiercely as any mama bear. “You pushed him away and I told you he wouldn’t like it, that it would hurt him, but none of you listened!”

“Maddie…” Chim tries, but Maddie just whirls on him.

“You know about his childhood! We told you what they were like! Why did you let it come to this?!”

She continues without thought, much like they had earlier, but Bobby knows she’s right.

They’d been Buck’s family, but they hadn’t treated him as they ought to, and now… they were paying the price for their failure.

Buck feels an immense sense of relief when the plane touches down in Texas. Suddenly being in a completely different state to the 118, even without yet seeing his friend, was like a breath of fresh air.

Suddenly, he could breathe again.

T.K. is grinning widely when he meets him at the arrivals gate, another man – broad and tan skinned – stood beside him. He introduces him as Carlos, T.K.’s boyfriend, and for a moment Buck feels like they’re back in high school.

“Boyfriend, huh?” Buck grins. “Do I need to vet him? Give him the talk?”

“Buuuuuuckkkkk.” T.K. whines, but Buck just grins wider, eyes darting over to Carlos.

“What are your intentions with my boy?”

They can’t keep a straight face after that, and Buck loves it all more than anything.

T.K. tells him they’re heading straight to the station, even though it’s his day off, because Owen wants to cook for him, and Buttercup the dog is apparently the best remedy for anything.

Buck isn’t entirely sure he wants to step inside another fire station so soon, but T.K. knows him, and he’d never want to disappoint Owen, so he smiles softly as they climb into the car.

The drive is quiet but calm. As he watches the new landscapes around him, Buck fumbles in his pocket for his phone.

Ignoring the multiple missed calls – because why do they suddenly care now? – he pulls up Maddie’s contact, sending off a quick text.

**I’ve had to leave L.A. I’m sure you can guess why. I just can’t do it anymore, and I need a fresh start. I’m with T.K. so I’m safe. Don’t worry. You know where he is, but please don’t tell the others? I need time and space. Lots of it. Love you always X**

He shoots another, shorter one off to Carla: **Tell Chris I love him.**

Then, before he loses the nerve, he blocks and deletes every other number in his phone apart from their two, and T.K.

It might be Texas, it might end up being somewhere else, but Buck knows one thing for certain.

He’s moving forward.

Just like Eddie said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely comments! Please ignore any geographical or medical inconsistencies in this chapter; I'm not from Texas, nor a medical professional!
> 
> I don’t own 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Lone Star, The Night Shift, or Far Away by Nickleback.

_Two Weeks Later_

The grocery store doors ping closed behind Buck, and he slides deftly into his truck upon reaching it, placing the bags on the passenger seat.

Starting the engine, he peels out of the parking lot, then orders Siri to call T.K.

“Hey bro!” T.K. greets him, and Buck can almost imagine the grin.

“Just checking if you’re all still at the station.” Buck says, turning left and heading in the direction of the 126. “I just got all the ingredients for my ultimate lasagne if you’re hungry?”

“We just got back from a call,” T.K. responds, “and would love nothing more than your cooking.”

“I’m fifteen minutes out.”

“My stomach can’t wait.”

He doesn’t make it to the station.

The highway gets snarled up by a traffic jam caused by – of all things – an overturned poultry truck. No injuries, just several hundred chickens roaming the multiple lanes.

So he takes the scenic route, sending a message to T.K. to say he’ll be taking a little longer. He takes the truck alongside the dirt roads and canyons that surround the area, taking the longer way into the city. Fingers play with the radio buttons, filling the cab with soft melodies.

He smiles softly, truly relaxed for the first time in a long while, when suddenly the car in front jams its breaks on, skidding off the road and down the canyon.

Buck swears, jamming his own breaks on. The car behind slams into him, jerking Buck’s neck and spinning his truck to one side.

Buck blinks, head spinning, as the truck grinds to a halt. It takes him a long moment to reorient himself, and then he’s out of the truck, ignoring the throb in his head and neck.

Phone in hand, he dials 9-1-1 at the same time as he grabs rope from his trunk, thankful he’d been helping T.K. with a roofing job at the Strand house at the weekend.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

He’s quick to tie one end of the rope to a tree near the edge of the cliff, wrapping the other end around his waist and tying it tightly, as he responds, giving the location and then saying, “a car has gone over the ridge.”

He lowers himself over slowly, taking it one step at a time. He might not be a firefighter anymore, but he still has the skills needed to help these people before the actual first responders arrive. “I’m a former firefighter. I’m lowering myself down to start triage, but we’re gonna need a response unit out here.”

“Sir, you should wait…”

Buck shakes his head. “You can’t change my mind. These people need help now.” He hangs up the phone and slides it back into his pocket, focusing on the hand and foot holds he needs to get down to the car.

His foot slips for a moment, twisting as it catches a jutting piece of earth, but he manages to get down otherwise easily. Ignoring the pain in his foot and head, he makes his way to the thankfully still upright car.

It looks to have rolled once on its way down the steep fall, but the majority of the car has held shape, and Buck hopes that bodes well for the passengers inside. He finds two unconscious passengers, male and female, in the front seats. Thankfully no-one in the back, which has taken the heaviest damage.

Carefully breaking the passenger window, he checks both pulses. The woman in the passenger seat has a strong pulse, despite the blood dripping from a deep gash on her forehead. Buck quickly applies a bandage from the first age kit he’d also grabbed from his trunk, before moving onto the man in the driver’s seat.

The man is groaning softly, and as soon as his eyes open, Buck can see a problem.

The man’s eyes are blown wide and bloodshot, and Buck immediately suspects a serious head injury.

“Sir, I need you to stay still for me.” Buck says softly. “Can you tell me where it hurts?”

The man blinks, but it’s like he’s not seeing anything. “I… I don’t… Everything just tingles…”

Buck swears under his breath. “Okay, sir. Stay very still for me. I’ll be right back.” He slips away quickly, racing away to the low bushes spread across the ridge. It’s not perfect, but it’ll do.

He pulls off the thickest branches through nothing more than brute force and adrenaline, then snaps off the leaves and twigs until he’s left with two thick handfuls of small lengths of wood. Ripping two lengths from his shirt, he binds them together, then rips off another longer length. Racing back to the car, Buck is quick to place the bundles on either side of the man’s neck and secure his head in place.

As he finishes up and settles on the window side of the driver’s seat to talk calmly to the man and keep him awake, he hears the tell-tale sound of a chopper overhead.

“See.” He grins. “Told you help would come.”

It still takes the med team a further twenty minutes to full disembark the chopper, which has to land a small distance away, and get to them. The first person Buck sees is a tall, dark haired man with stunning hazel eyes, whose smile instantly makes Buck feel at ease.

He introduces himself as T.C. and tells them he’s from San Antonio Medical Centre. Buck explains that he wasn’t in the accident, but was instead in the car behind and saw it all go down. He explains that there was a third vehicle that hit him from behind back up on the main road, but that he’s a former firefighter so rappelled down to the scene to help out.

“That’s brave of you.” T.C. comments, before waving over his partner, who he introduces as Topher. Topher begins looking at the young woman while T.C. focuses on the man. Buck explains how he used what he could to prevent further injury to the man’s neck, and the suspected head wound.

T.C. flashes a pen light in the man’s eyes and nods, agreeing with Buck’s assessment. “Looks like a neck fracture, if the tingling is anything to go by, with brain swelling. We need to get him out of here now.”

T.C. quickly radios in for the chopper to come closer to the scene, explaining that they need evac ASAP. Then he’s ushering Buck out of the way while he and Topher carefully load the man onto a backboard. Within moments, Buck is beside the man, talking quietly to him still, while the woman is also removed and put on a backboard.

As Topher coordinates both victims being taken up to the chopper, T.C. kneels beside Buck, who’s suddenly quiet and still.

Buck’s head feels like it’s spinning all of a sudden, and his stomach is rebelling against him like he just ate week old chicken.

_Concussion_ , his mind supplies, but it does nothing to alleviate his symptoms. His foot is also throbbing intensely, like sharp knives attacking the extremity, and Buck shuts his eyes tight against the sudden onslaught.

“How you feeling Evan?” T.C. asks, gently prying Buck’s eyes open to shine a penlight in them. Buck shies away immediately, groaning.

“Like my head’s being split open.” He admits. “Think I got whiplash when I was rammed from behind.”

“Okay.” T.C. says, helping him up. “Let’s get you up there too.”

“No, no…” Buck tries to protest. “I’m fine.”

“Maybe so.” T.C. grins. “But I can’t help you back up to your car so, it’s either the chopper, or we leave you here, and I have a duty of care.”

In seconds Buck has a c-collar around his neck and is pulled into the man’s arms, a belt tied around his waist, and then they’re up in the air, reaching towards the chopper. Then they’re peeling away towards the hospital and Buck has no idea why or how fate brought him this moment. Yet, leaning against T.C.’s warm side, he can’t bring himself to complain either.

When they arrive at the hospital, the two patients from the car are wheeled quickly inside by T.C. and Topher, while Buck is left in the care of another doctor.

He mourns the loss of T.C.’s warmth for a long moment, but then the new doctor is flashing him a charming smile and introducing himself as “Drew,” and Buck can’t help but wonder if this hospital is purposefully staffed with too many good looking people.

Drew has him sit in a wheelchair and brings him down into the hospital and then straight into an x-ray to check his neck, just in case, and his foot. They make small talk through the intercom, and Buck finds himself relaxing a little, despite the situation. Drew says that when T.C. had called in noting that a civilian had initiated triage, he’d been both surprised and impressed.

Buck tries not to laugh, instead explaining that he’s an ex-firefighter. Drew notes that “someone who can make a neck brace out of wood and cotton is clearly a born first responder.” Buck can’t argue, but isn’t really about to explain everything to a stranger, no matter how comfortable they seem to make him.

Instead he just smiles tersely, and asks if someone can contact the 126 for him, and let them know where he is.

Drew tells him not to worry, and then takes him down to an exam room. They continue to chat about pretty much anything, and the x-ray results come back quick enough. Drew happily informs him that his neck is fine, the muscles are just bruised, but that he definitely has a concussion. The bad news is that his ankle is fractured.

Buck just shrugs and says he’s had worse.

Drew raises a brow, but doesn’t comment.

Almost as soon as Buck is set up in a bed with anti-emetic medication for the sickness, fluids and a newly casted ankle, T.K. sprints around the corner, shouting his name.

A chuckling Drew says, “I guess you know him?” and shows T.K. over.

Buck happily accepts the hug that T.K. pulls him into, all the while his brother murmurs about how much of a danger magnet he is and why T.K. can’t leave him alone for even a second.

Buck swats him with the spoon that came with his jello, and rolls his eyes. “It’s not my fault.”

“Wrong place, wrong time, I know.” T.K. grins. “That’s like a thing with you.”

“Geez, thanks.” Buck laughs.

T.K. just pulls him into another hug. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, love you too.”

Little did they know, Buck was actually in the right place at the right time, and that his life from here on was going to change radically.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m so sorry for taking so long on this, but here’s chapter three! I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> As for the people questioning about potential pairings, this chapter contains a little bit of Buck/T.C. but I don’t know if they’re gonna get together yet. It’s definitely not going to be Buck/Drew though, because I love Drew and Rick too much.

** Two Years Later **

****

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to LAX. We thank you for flying with us and hope you have a pleasant time in LA.”

Buck’s stomach roils with anxiety as soon as they touch down. Realistically, he knows the chance of him seeing his old team is super slim, and yet his mind fixates on the what if’s.

What if Maddie told them something, told them he was coming, even though she promised she wouldn’t?

What if, god forbid – because he still cared about them all despite everything – one of them came to the hospital?

What if –

His relentless thoughts are cut off by the small hand that grips his own, bright blue eyes staring up at him as the plane pulls into the arrivals bay, wide smile pulling one from his own lips. “Are we here?”

Buck brushes platinum blonde hair from her face, fondness and love relaxing his otherwise tense posture. “Sure are sweet-pea.”

A satisfied nod, her other hand gripping the teddy bear on her lap tightly. Then, “Can we go to the beach, Daddy?”

Of all the things his daughter had been excited about when he told her they were moving to L.A. from Austin, the beach was at the top of the list. The young girl hadn’t had the best start in life, and ever since she’d come into Buck’s ER, malnourished and forgotten, he’d been determined to give her everything and more. From the moment he’d adopted her, she’d become his world.

It’s why he wouldn’t let the 118 ruin this for them; why he couldn’t.

It’s not like his career was hanging on this transfer to L.A. Medical, but it was a significant boost to his already long list of credentials, and the pay was more than enough to give Lily everything she needed, and more.

He wasn’t coming back to close old wounds, or reconnect, or any of that bullshit. It was purely a career driven decision, for his daughter’s sake. Nothing more. Nothing less.

If it meant his sister could finally meet her niece, well, that was a bonus.

“Of course we can, Lilybug.” Buck hoists her onto his hip with practiced ease – even at five years old, she was still too small – and grabs their hand luggage from the overhead compartment. Then they’re making their way off the plane and through security.

Lily’s eyes are wide as the security man waves them through, landing on the rotating carousel of bags.

“Stay close, Lil.” Buck instructs, as he starts hoisting their three bags onto one of the metal trolleys. Lily’s hand is wrapped tight around his pant leg, even as her head swivels around, taking in all the sights. It was the first time she had flown, and while Buck had been worried, she’d been more in awe of everything than anything else.

Once they have their bags settled, he hoists her back up, and sets about taking them through into the arrivals lounge.

There’s a sudden ringing in Buck’s ears as he’s surrounded by the sights and sounds he once called home, but Lily’s excited shriek cuts through it all. “Uncle Tommy!”

Sure enough, as promised, T.C. Callahan is there waiting for them, all bright smiles and shiny pink balloons. Lily wiggles from his grip, and he reluctantly puts her down, watching with a grin as she rushes straight into T.C.’s open arms.

The only person allowed to call him by his first name, Lily had wormed her way into T.C.’s heart just as much as Buck’s that night she’d stumbled into the ER. While Buck was her father in name and legality, T.C. was just as much a second parent in Buck’s eyes.

The older Attending had transferred to L.A. a month prior, and had spoken to Buck at length about how much L.A. Med needed a Cardio Thoracic Attending too. It hadn’t taken much for Buck to agree, and while he was going to miss their family in Austin, he was glad he had T.C. here with him and Lily.

As T.C. rises from his ‘Lilybug-Hug’, his niece now grinning at the sparkling pink balloons she’s holding, he opens up his free arm, and Buck all but rushes himself into the warm side. The all too familiar scents of mint and spice hit him, and he finds himself relaxing for the first time in days.

“Missed you.” He murmurs softly.

T.C. just grins and presses a kiss to Buck’s forehead. “Missed you more.”

“Can we go to the beach now?” Lily looks up at them with bright, wide eyes, and Buck can’t help but laugh.

“I thought you’d want to see the cool new room your Uncle created for you?”

T.C. already being here had made the transition much easier for the small family. He’d found them the perfect house, put down a deposit, and even decorated with one of his – soon to be their, Buck supposed – new colleagues from the hospital; a vivacious woman named Becki, he’d said, who was as much bold colours and sparkle as she was kindness and hope.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Lily bounds up and down, eyes alight with excitement. “Does it have all my superheroes?!”

T.C. grins. “Where else would I put them?”

Lily just squeals, and T.C. picks her up, cuddling her close. “Well come on then, supergirl.”

Buck follows them out with the trolley of bags, but for several long moments, his mind is in the past, on a young boy with a bright smile, who Buck once called super too.

For a long moment, he feels the ghosts of L.A. return.

The house is set in a suburban neighbourhood on the outskirts of L.A. and Buck falls in love with it as soon as he sees it. As much as he’d loved his apartment in Austin, this was the perfect place for Lily to grow up.

T.C. sees his wide smile and bright eyes, and grins. “Knew you’d like it.”

Buck had refused to see any pictures; trusting T.C. and wanting to see it for the first time in person.

The outside of the building was sky blue wood panelling, with white accents. Thick posts held up a porch roof that spanned the whole front of the property and down one side, with three steps leading up. The porch itself was decorated with outdoor furniture. The front garden was neatly manicured, but with plenty lawn space which again spanned around the outside of the house. It was hemmed in by a thick fence though, and a gate with a sturdy latch, ensuring Lily would always be safe outside. Buck even spied a beautiful looking swing-set off to the right.

The inside of the house was just as beautiful, a mix of modern and Victorian, brightly painted and completely wholesome. Fluffy pillows and warm blankets covered the deep blue couches, with several beanbags also placed around the home cinema and gaming system. The kitchen was modern and sleek, perfect for Buck to try out his recipes in – his favourite hobby, and one Lily loved when it came to his baked goods.

Lily’s room was by far the best. Somehow T.C. knew a guy who painted murals, and they’d done each of Lily’s walls to look like scenes from a superhero movie, except the lead character in each one was Lily herself. Her action figures were all lined up on a shelf, as were her wrestling playsets, while the large toy box beneath held most of her stuffed animals.

She had a new bed, ready made, on one side, also stuffed to the brim with pillows and snuggly blankets, while the other side of the room held another dresser with a little TV on it, and a wide wardrobe.

Seeing his daughter literally burst into tears on seeing the room, made Buck’s heart swell to ten times its size. He’d always known that T.C. cared for her like she was his own, but this… this was too much.

Swallowing back a sob of his own, Buck slips out of the room, trying to get his breathing under control.

The little flash of Christopher back at the airport had been a blow, a sudden remembrance of what he’d left behind, but this had Buck keeling over. It was something he would have done for Christopher, once upon a time, and for T.C. to have done such a thing for Lily, well… it just about brought back everything Buck had ever felt for Eddie and Chris, and then turned it completely on its head.

Now, he felt like his heart was going to explode with love and affection, and he couldn’t quite comprehend what that meant.

“Hey.”

He turns swiftly at T.C.’s voice, trying to get his breathing under control. “H-Hey…”

“You okay?” T.C.’s brows are furrowed, and it’s a look Buck hates on him, because they’d been nothing but honest with each other from the beginning, and yet… he needs time to process the rampant thoughts that are suddenly rushing through his brain.

“Y-Yeah… just…” He swallows thickly, forcing himself to stand and smile at his friend. “Thank you.”

“You know you never need to thank me for anything, Evan.” T.C. says softly. “Not when it comes to you and Lil.”

“I just…”

T.C. hand is electric on his shoulder. “I love her like she’s my own, okay? You know that. Superheroes make her feel safe, so why wouldn’t I do everything to make sure she sleeps at night?”

It made sense, when T.C. put it that way, because superheroes had been the one thing that kept Lily’s nightmares at bay. She said Buck and T.C. saved her because they were superheroes, and superheroes always saved people. When Buck had promised to never let the bad people hurt her again, she’d said she believed him because he was a superhero, and superhero’s never broke promises. When Buck had told her he wanted to be her Daddy, she’d said it was all she wanted, but he knew that because he was a superhero, and they always knew what people needed. Superheroes were what she believed in, and Buck would always do everything in his power to make sure the superheroes always protected his baby girl. T.C. made the same vow too, Buck knew this. Yet there’s something else in all of it, something electric in the air that has Buck wondering if that’s all the reason for T.C.’s actions.

Then there’s T.C., sparkling eyes locked onto Buck’s, and he’s sure they’re leaning in, and they’re definitely closer now, and he can feel hot breath ghosting against his cheek and –

“Daddy! There’s a superhero suit!”

Buck jerks back, slipping back inside his daughter’s room without a second thought. He whips his baby girl into his arms, gushing with her over the very cool superhero suit that Uncle Tommy got her. He pushes everything else aside.

If he notices the slight hint of disappointment in T.C.’s eyes when he too slips back into the room, he tries not to think about it at all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry again for the wait. I’m gonna try and be more reliable with updates :) Spot the Hamilton reference :D
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Lone Star or The Night Shift.

Buck is bounding up and down on his heels in the kitchen the next morning as he cooks breakfast, a beaming grin on his face. When T.C. and Lily come downstairs (because Lily had insisted on her favourite uncle sleeping over) to the smell of pancakes, eggs and bacon, T.C. immediately calls him out on his expression.

“Someone’s happy.” He says with his own grin, settling Lily down and pouring her some juice.

“I kind of love first days.” Evan replies, dishing out some of the food on Lily’s plate, and then moving to T.C.’s. “So much excitement. So much possibility.”

“Eh, you just want to get back into surgery.” His friend laughs, pressing a kiss to Lily’s head and then settling down beside her. “Me, I’m looking forward to spending some time with my favourite niece.”

Lily beams up at him.

“I prefer wanting to save lives.” Evan retorts, though his grin doesn’t drop as he watches the two of them. “And I’m glad you guys are gonna have a fun day.”

Mouth half full of pancakes, Lily says, “C’n g’t c’w’m?”

“Manners, Lil.” Buck scolds softly.

She dutifully swallows, smiles apologetically at her Dad, and then says to T.C. “Can we get ice cream Uncle Tommy?”

“I don’t know.” T.C. jokes, looking over at Buck. “It’s up to your Dad.”

“Please Daddy!”

Buck just laughs. “Since when have I been able to resist those eyes?”

The sound of Lily’s cheer and the happiness on her face definitely helps him say goodbye a short while later and head off to his first shift at L.A. Med.

He is, not unexpectedly, met by Becki, who enthusiastically introduces herself and tells Buck that T.C. has told her ‘SOOOOOOO MUCH’ about him.

Buck laughs softly and tells her that he’s glad to meet her and excited to be there, but there’s a small part of him that’s reminded of Hen. He feels the worms of sadness rise up inside him, but he pushes them down quickly. He’s not here to revisit the past, he reminds himself dutifully as he’s shown into the locker room, where a new white coat waits for him.

_Dr. Evan Buckley, M.D._

_Cardiothoracic Surgery._

He’s there to secure his daughter’s future.

Once Evan is off to work, T.C. settles himself down with a cup of tea while he plays a few rounds of ‘superheroes’ with Lily; the Avengers playing in the background. They play until she decides she’s hungry and then it’s back into the kitchen for sandwiches and vegetables, with the bread cut into superhero shapes curtesy of the new cutters he’d bought specially for her.

“Can we go to the park, Uncle Tommy?” Lily asks with a broad smile once she’s finished draining the last of her juice, and T.C. was never one to deny her anything.

“Of course we can Lil. Why don’t you run and get your shoes on, and I’ll pack us some snacks?” He helps her down and then she’s off running with a giddy yell.

It warms his heart, and he loves how much of Buck he can see in her.

When he’d met Evan Buckley, all that time ago, he’d never thought he would be gaining a friend for life, and a niece all the same. Even when Evan had become fast friends with Drew and decided to enlist as an army medic, he hadn’t thought much of it.

Maybe he was used to quick friendships and moving on, but he hadn’t expected the man to worm himself so deeply into T.C.’s heart.

Then the call had come in that their battalion had been attacked, that Evan and Drew had both been hurt, and T.C. had never quite felt fear like that in his life, never more so than when he was banned from both operating theatres for being ‘too close.’

He never wanted to relive that feeling again.

They’d both been okay, in the end, and both had retired from service to focus on civilian care. T.C. had been more than happy to have them both permanently at the hospital, and his friendship with Buck had grown exponentially.

Then Lily came along, and the rest – they say – was written in the history books.

T.C. had never loved anyone as fiercely as he loved Evan Buckley, and every day spent watching him grow into a dutiful father only hammered that home more.

Now that Buck was in L.A. with him, T.C. honestly knew he was at breaking point.

He had to say something, and he was pretty sure tonight was going to be the best time.

As they say, it’s now or never.

And T.C. did not want to throw away his shot.

He’s pulled from his thoughts as Lily returns, and then he’s swinging her up onto his hip and heading out the front door to the nearby park. They start off on the swings, and the slide, and then they head over to the roundabout where another young child is, laughing his head off as a man – presumably his father – spins him around.

T.C. smiles at them both. “Room for one more?”

The other man smiles back, muscular arms stopping the roundabout quickly. “Of course.”

T.C. nods his thanks and settles Lily down, reminding her to hold on tight, and then he and the other man are spinning the two children around.

“My name’s Christopher!” The young boy grins at Lily, and she responds in kind.

“My name’s Lily!”

The two laugh and smile as the roundabout makes them dizzy, and T.C. can’t help but grin at how happy Lily is compared to a year prior. He loves everything Buck has done for her; everything they both have done.

“I’m Eddie.” The other man introduces himself, and T.C. shakes his hand quickly between rotations.

“T.C.”

The children soon tire of being spun around and decide to go hunting for bugs on the field beside the park. Eddie and T.C. dutifully follow, a whistful look on the Latino man’s face.

“You know, most kids judge him on his disability before they even know him.” Eddie says, watching as Lily keeps pace with Chris, never running ahead or veering away.

“Lily knows too well how much that hurts.” T.C. replies, thinking of all the comments various people had thrown her way when she first came into the ED, how support workers had called her a lost cause because of her parents’ backgrounds. She may not have understood it, but she understood the looks and how much it upset her.

“Adopted?” Eddie asks, and then raises a hand. “Sorry. Big mouth.”

“It’s fine.” T.C. waves him away. “Yeah… my friend and I were ED doctors in San Antonio. She came into the ER…” He shakes his head. “I’ll never forget that day.”

“It’s a great thing to do.” Eddie replies with a smile. “She’s a great kid.”

“Yeah…” He grins. “She is. So is he.”

Eddie grins back. “He’s never let it define him. He always stays happy.”

“It’s a great way to be.”

“Uncle Tommy!” Lily comes back over with Christopher, smile even wider. “Can we get ice cream now?”

“Sure can.” T.C. grins, then looks between Eddie and Chris. “You’re welcome to join us.”

Eddie smiles softly. “We appreciate it, but we’re due at his Abuela’s soon.”

“Another time then?”

“Sure.”

They exchange numbers and promise to set up another play-date soon, and as T.C. leaves the park with Lily towards the ice cream shop, he has no idea what he may have set in motion.

Athena Grant never enjoyed having to harm a suspect in order to subdue them, but sometimes it came with the job, and when it’s you or them, you always have to put your own safety first.

Still, rolling into L.A. Med with a man on a gurney yelling and cursing her is not how she’d thought to spend her Wednesday afternoon.

The paramedics beside her are holding pressure to the man’s shoulder, but while he’s strapped down he is still writhing under the straps and trying to lash out.

“If you don’t stop that I’ll just have them leave the bullet in there, shall I?” She snaps at him, and though she doesn’t mean it, it somehow does the trick.

He stops moving, but still feels the need to spit at her and give her the stink eye.

She sighs wearily, and moves over to the reception desk to explain the situation and give her contact details while the paramedics set him in bay four. There’s a small kerfuffle behind the curtain, the sudden rapid beeping of one of the machines, and then a head is sticking out of the curtain, one of the nurses yelling, “Someone get the new cardio down here!”

The nurse at the reception desk smiles apologetically at Athena, and then excuses herself to reach for the tannoy mic, switching it on.

“Dr Buckley to the ED. Dr Buckley to the ED.”

Athena’s heart stops dead in her chest.

_‘It can’t be.’_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the love guys! Hope you enjoy this one :D
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Lone Star, or The Night Shift!

Sure enough Evan Buckley rounds the corner a second later, racing into the ED like the devil is on his tail. “Who called for Cardio?”

He’s exactly as she remembered him, beautiful birthmark and all, just more tanned and blonde hair a little bit longer. The white coat is new, obviously, and it takes her back for a long moment, wondering where he’s been all this time and what brought him back to LA, Med specifically.

Then she’s watching as the nurse calls him over and he ducks behind the trauma bay curtain, suddenly nothing more than a shadow.

“Bullet’s shifted. Likely nicked an artery.” She can hear him say. “Pressure’s bottoming out. He’s going Bradycardic.”

There’s an intense whine that Athena recognises as the heart monitor, followed by Evan’s call for “Defib!”

Several thumps follow, and then the recognisable sound of a heart beat.

“Okay, keep fluids in, get two O-Neg set up, and get X-ray down here! Then I want him in theatre!”

More commotion follows, someone arriving with a portable x-ray, and then Evan’s coming back out from behind the curtain. He spots her immediately, her eyes fixed on him, halfway through peeling off his bloody gloves.

“Athena.” His voice is quiet, and she can’t detect any emotion – good or bad – in his call. The snap of the second glove echoes in the ED, the thwump of them being disposed of, the squish of the disinfectant gel pump. In all that time, his gaze doesn’t drop from hers.

“Buck.” She responds, just as quiet. Though minutes have passed since she first set eyes on him, she still feels like there’s no air in her lungs. Her eyes prick with tears.

“No-one calls me that anymore.” He replies softly, but there’s the ghost of a smile on his face. Maybe it’s just the memory, or maybe he is happy to see her.

She gets her answer when he pulls her into a tight hug and says. “It’s good to see you.”

She hugs him back just as tightly, breathing in that scent of him that’s oh so familiar and that she’s sorely missed. She would never forget the day that Bobby came home in tears, explaining what had happened at the firehouse culminating with Buck leaving; how they’d gone over later, only to find his apartment empty.

That he’d left for good.

She hadn’t spoken to her husband for a good week after he told her the truth of what had been going on with Buck, and how Bobby had been keeping him back, and even when she eventually forgave him, she never forgot.

Her one wish had been to see him again, and now… she pushes him back a little, holding him at arms length, so she can get a good look at him.

“Lord, I’ve missed you, boy.” She replies, crying freely now, and he just pulls her back in for a hug.

“I’ve missed you too.” He replies, holding her for another minute before reluctantly pulling back. “I… I’ve got to get to theatre, but… can we get coffee tomorrow? I… uh, I don’t start ‘til 11, and there’s a place across the street?”

She doesn’t know why he’s giving her this chance, but she definitely isn’t going to squander it, so she just nods, smiling. “Of course, Buckaroo.”

He laughs softly, and it’s like music to her hears. “Haven’t heard that in a while either.” And as he walks away, she feels something in her lighten.

So he lied.

Sort of.

He is in LA to secure his daughter’s future, for her to meet her Aunt, for many things revolving around Lily but… a part of him is here for them too.

Not the 118. He knows better than that now.

But Athena, Karen, Michael, the kids. People who did nothing wrong; who welcomed him when he had no-one and stayed by him, even if they had been out of the loop after his embolism; even if they hadn’t known enough to protect him from it all.

It doesn’t mean he’s going looking for them but… seeing Athena in the ED, it simply broke a wall he’d put up so long ago and he couldn’t help but hug her so tightly and wish to never let go. He couldn’t help but ask her for coffee.

He missed her; the mom he’d never truly had.

He tells T.C. as much when he arrives home, as they’re getting ready to go to Maddie’s; waiting for Lily to pick out which superheroes she’s bringing.

“I’m happy for you, Evan,” T.C. tells him, smiling softly as he places a hand on Evan’s shoulder. He distinctly ignores the tingles the touch brings, focusing on T.C.’s words. “Just… don’t get hurt.”

“I won’t.” He tells him, repeating the words he’d spoken to himself. “I know better.”

T.C. nods once, satisfied, and then lets his hand drop, smile widening. “You excited to see your sister?”

“Definitely.” Buck replies, slipping the bottle of wine he’d gotten on the way home into the gift bag he’d also purchased, and writing their names on the tag. It had been Maddie’s birthday the month before and while he’d sent her something in the mail, he wanted to add a little extra too. “I’m more excited for her to meet Lil though.”

“They’ll love each other, I’m sure.”

“No doubt.” Buck grins as his daughter races into the living room to deposit one figure and a stuffed rabbit, before racing back into her bedroom. “two more minutes Lil!” He yells after her, laughing, before looking back at T.C. “You know, Texas was home, but I think more because of the people there than anything else. With you, Lil, Maddie, maybe even Athena… I think L.A. could be home again too.”

“Home’s with you.” T.C. says, eyes shining, and for a moment Evan can’t breathe. “With Lil. Evan…”

“I’m done!” Lily runs back into the room holding one last action figure, grinning.

Evan’s focus remains on T.C. for a long moment, but when the other man doesn’t move, he turns his gaze to his daughter, and the couch where four superheroes, the bunny, and a stuffed T-Rex sit. “Looks good, Lil. I’m sure Aunt Maddie will love them.”

Lily just beams.

Evan turns to T.C., taking his elbow and ushering his daughter and her toys out the door. “Later.” He says softly. As much as he knows they need to talk (two interrupted moments are enough for him to realise there’s definitely something happening between them that needs to be discussed), it can’t be done with Lily around and he promised Maddie they wouldn’t be late.

Fate always loved to mess with Evan Buckley however, and that day was no different. They’ve barely got in the car before Lily is saying, “I made a new friend today, Daddy!”

Evan turns in his seat toward his daughter, smiling. “Is that so, Lily-bug? That’s good to hear.”

Lily nods. “His name’s Christopher and we played on the roundabout and caught bugs and then me and Uncle Tommy went for ice cream but his Daddy said we could play again another day!”

He covers the involuntary jerk that name brings, forcing a wider smile. “Lily-bug hunting for bugs.”

“Buggies!” Lily cries, and then T.C. is handing Evan his phone before starting the engine.

“We took a few pictures so you could see what you missed.” The dark haired man laughs. “Though I’m sure you were perfectly happy with IV lines and sutures.”

He would have laughed at the joke had he not just brought up the day’s album, staring in shock at the very familiar figures of Eddie and Christopher Diaz.

His face must look ashen, eyes wide, because T.C. immediately turns the engine off again when he doesn’t reply, looking at him with concern. “Ev? You okay?”

He shakes his head, croaking. “You said you’d see them again?”

“Yeah? We exchanged numbers.” T.C. sounds confused, and Evan doesn’t really blame him. He’d never mentioned surnames or even talked that much about them; he’d only briefly mentioned the names of those he’d worked with in LA one evening, a little intoxicated, when T.C. had brought up his penchant for danger.

Evan swears under his breath, forgetting for a moment where he is, and all he can think is;

_Why?_

_Why them?_

_Out of all the families in LA, how had Eddie come so close to his little girl? How had he wormed his way into their lives without him even knowing?_

He can feel himself panicking, breathing ragged and short, and T.C. is immediately concerned, coaching him through his breathing and telling him to calm down.

“Daddy? Are you okay?”

His daughter’s voice cuts through the panic, and he forces himself to calm; to breathe.

“I-I’m okay…”

T.C.’s frown questions him without words, and he just grabs the other man’s hand, squeezing softly. “That’s Eddie. From the 118.”

T.C.’s eyes widen. “If I’d have known…”

“You couldn’t have.” Evan replies quickly. He’s not placing blame on him, on anyone. It was fate, plain and simple, who seemed to hate him. “Just… don’t meet them again. Please… I don’t want him anywhere near us.”

“Okay.” T.C. breathes, squeezing back. “Okay.”

Athena finds herself in a daze when she arrives at the 118 that evening with a home cooked meal for the team. They’re smiles and joviality, welcoming her as always, but she can see more clearly that evening the cracks that had formed in Buck’s absence.

She can see the way Eddie’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

That Chim doesn’t laugh as much.

That Hen is quieter than she was.

That Bobby holds himself a distance from them now, because he can’t let himself fail as their Captain again; can’t let personal override professional.

They’re still a team, a family, but the foundation has rotted and she knows it’s only a matter of time before they break even further.

“Maddie not here?” She asks as she sets the food down on the long table.

Chim just shrugs – they hadn’t quite been the same since Buck left. “Said she was having someone over.”

Athena raises an eyebrow – partly that he hadn’t questioned it, but also wondering if it was Evan – but lets it go, focusing on dishing up the lasagne.

“How was your day?” Bobby asks, pressing a kiss to her cheek, and for a moment she considers telling them the truth.

She considers telling them about Buck.

She considers giving them a chance to rebuild.

But then she knows it’s not her call to make.

“Fine.” She replies instead, sitting down and pressing a kiss to Bobby’s cheek in return. “Just fine.”


End file.
